Oil burner with radial fuel nozzles



Dec. 12,1950 A. CLARKSON v 6 on. BURNER WITH RADIAL FUEL NOZZLES Filed'Nov. 28, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 W N x W m L INVENTOR.

A. CLARKSON OIL BURNER WITH RADIAL FUEL NOZZLES 2- Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec.12,1950

Filed Nov. 28, 1947 Patented Dec. 12, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT. OFFICEOIL BURNER WITH RADIAL FUEL NOZZLES Alick Clarkson, Itasca, Ill.,-assignor of one-half to Vapor Heating. Corporation, Chicago, 111., acorporation .of Delaware Application November 28, 1947, Serial No.788,483

9 Claims.

Thisinvention relates-to certain new and useful improvements inoilburners of the general class-disclosed in my Patent 2,445;302, grantedJuly 13, 1948,- on my co-pending' application Serial No. 515,555, filedDecember 24, 1943, and in tially 'on 1ines'2 2 ofFig. l and also showingmy Patent 2,398,883; granted April 23; 1946; on parts of the retortbroken away. applicationSerial No; 525,207. In my patents Fig. 3 is afragmentary sectional view illusaboveidentified, a retort forvaporizinga liquid tratin'g the manner in which the flame turnsupfuelis-positioned abovea burner member so" as Wardlyto direct'its heatupwardly along the walls to'be heated by the flamesfronr the burner. ofthe retort during lowflame operation of the In-thepresent improvement; aretort in which burner: a liquid fuel is vaporized is'similarly locatedFig. 4 'isa fragmentary view, in side elevation, above a burner so as;to be heated by the flames illustrating theeccentric position of onefuel noztherefrom, but the present invention distinguishes zle" in anorifice through which combustion air is from said prior'inventionsinvariousways and delivered into the combustion chamber. particularly bythe provision of an improved The oil burner of the present invention issuitarrangement of' burner nozzles. able foruse in many situations.However, for the One of the principal objects of the present inpurposeof illustrating one situation in which it venti'on isto provide a liquidfuel burner of the may be usedthe' burner as shown herein isenabove-g'eneral character in which the burner 'noz closed in the lowerportion of an ordinary heater zles thereof are so arranged as to provideimcasing. The heater casing is composed of a base proved heating of theretortmemberboth"dur= structure laia'central section It, and an uppering high and low flame operation of 'the'burner; section llwhich'may beremovably connected in In this connection the invention contemplates, asany suitable manner; one-specific arrangement for accomplishing the Theupper'marginal portion of the intermediabove object, positioning thenozzles-so that they ate section I! is formed with'an' inwardly pressedextend radially outwardlyiromthe burner struc corrugation i 3whichserves as a supportior a ture with the discharge orifices of eachnozzle fire potlt and thesaid upper section iZ'of the being positionedeccentric toan airsupply orifice heater. The'fire potis preferably ofcylindrical surrounding thenozzle. With this'arrangementconfiguration'andis spaced from the intermedithehorizontal position ofthefuel nozzles pro-- ate 'sectionl so as to provide a cooling air spaceJ'ectstheflames outwardlyfrom-the burner durlii'betweenthern. The bottomportion is of the ingthehigh flame operation thereof, when higher firepot is 'provided'with a central opening ii and velocityair is used, andtherefore avoids overthe portion"intermediate thesaid central openheating theretort during such high flame oper- 5 ingand the side wall ofthe pot is bowed downati'one Due to the eccentric arrangement of thewardly to providea circular trough is which is luel nozzles in the airpassages, a larger volume concentric with the axis of the'centralopening ll; of air is delivered into the combustion chamber The burnerstructure is designated generally at the lower'portion ofthenozzles thanis delivby the reference numeral is and is supported cred above thenozzles. Consequently there is 40 from-the-b'ottom of the base structureis bymeans greater: air pressure beneath the flames. This of a'centralsupport 2G. The burner structureexfeature, however, is particularlyadvantageous tendsupwardlyinto the'fire potthrough the during thelow'fl'am'e operationof th'e.burner,- central-opening ll inthe bottom 5-thereof. sincezthe f1ame,.inv such case is normally a small The saidburner structure comprises a casting-'2! conet-like cap which burns at ashort distance having afuel distributing chamber 22' whichaway;fromthe'fuel' nozzle. The larger volumeof chamber communicates-with aseriesofradially air, therefore, functions tobend. the lowflarne arrangeddischarge nozzles A ring member upwardlyaround the retort so. astoutilizethe 24 seated onthe top of thecasting provides an full heatingeffect of thelow flames. upwardly cone-shaped flange which partiallyAnotherobje'ct'of the invention is to provide closesthe upper end of thedistributing chamber various improved arrangements and construc- 22.A.hood..member 23a, the upper portion of tions for improving-thedistribution of auxiliary which has conical. side walls 232), fits overthe air and to provide improved and simplified means upper :portion of.the casting 2! and ring. 24 ato forpreheating the burnerstructure.forma cl'osed'lvaporizing chamber 25'. The lower. The invention isillustrated in the accompany! portionzofthehoodis in. the form ofacylindrical.

ing drawings wherein:

2 Fig.1 is a vertical section through'the lower portion of 'a heatercasing showing an oil" burner of the present inventionpositionedtherein.

Fig. .2'is' a sectional plan view taken substanapron 25 which fits overthe outer edges of the nozzle is substantially less than the area of thesaid space beneath the nozzle, whereby a larger volume of combustion airis supplied to the flame at a location beneath each burner nozzle thanis supplied at the top thereof. The burner casting fl is secured to thesupport 28 by means of a bolt 3t threaded into a central opening of thecasting. The hood 23a is retained in position by means of a bolt 3!which extends through a removable cap 32 of the hood and into thecentral threaded opening of the casting 2i.

Liquid fuel is delivered in controlled amounts through a delivery pipe32 which directs the fuel into a downwardly inclined passage 33 leadinginto the vaporizing chamber 26. The bottom wall of the inclined passageis preferably provided with a retarding surface 34 which receives theliquid fuel delivered and prevents the drops or beads of liquid fromdancing about on the heated surface. The retarding surface 34 ispreferably in the form of a screen positioned on the bottom surface ofthe inclined passage 33 so as to form a series of pockets which tend toretain small pools of the liquid fuel. The volume of liquid fuelsupplied may be controlled by means of a hand valve 35 or by means ofany of the various automatic controls now known. A baffle 3% extendsupwardly from the inner edge of the ring member 24 at a locationopposite the entrance of the inclined passage 33 into the vaporizingchamber 26. The upper end of the inclined passage 33 is open to theatmosphere, by virtue of openings 33a leading into an air chamber 48, sothat a small quantity of air may flow into the vaporizing chamber 26 andmix with the vaporized fuel to provide a rich gaseous mixture. Theamount of air entering the vaporizer is determined by a flange member36a secured in the upper end of the passage 33.

When starting the burner, the liquid fuel delivered into the vaporizingchamber 26 will fiow along the horizontal portion of the ring 24 to adown spout 38. At this point the liquid passes through the spout into acircular groove 39 formed in the bottom portion of the burner casting 2Eand thence through a second down spout it to an asbestos mat 4| securedto the floor portion of the base it. A flow controlling strip E2 issupported on the central support member 21! and extends upwardly andthen downwardly. The strip 62 receives the liquid fuel discharged fromthe spout ill and directs it onto the asbestos mat ll without unduesplashing. A normally closed door 43 is formed in the base It throughwhich a torch may be extended to ignite the fuel saturated mat ll. Thisfuel when ignited serves to heat the bottom wall it of the fire pot. Theheat will also pass through the several orifices 29 and throughelongated passages 44 formed in the lower edge of the apron of the hoodto heat the walls 232) of the vaporizing chamber 28. When these wallsbecome sufficiently hot to vaporize the liquid fuel, the fuel vapormixes with the small volume of air entering the vaporizing chamberthrough passage 33 to form a rich gaseous mixture. This rich mixturepasses downwardly through the central opening 21 in the ring 24 into thedistributing chamber 22 of the burner and is discharged through theradially disposed nozzles 23 into the combustion chamber 45 of the firepot l4. As the temperature of the burner and vaporizing chamberincreases, all of the liquid fuel delivered into the vaporizing chamberwill be vaporized and the pilot flame will burn itself out for the wantof additional fuel. It will be seen, therefore, that the operation ofthe burner will go from the preheating stage into the normal operatingstage automatically. The combustion air passes from the air chamber 4%beneath the fire pot i l through the orifices 29 surrounding the severalfuel nozzles and through the elongated passages 44, preferably in theform of recesses in the lower edge of the apron 25. The circular troughl8 formed in the bottom portion E6 of the fire pot provides adequatespace beneath the nozzles 23 for the expansion of the combustion air andalso provides a cone-shaped surface ll leading upwardly along the bottomof the fire pot to the eccentric passages 29 and to the elongatedpassages 44. The said bottom wall of the fire pot, therefore, serves topreheat the combustion air introduced into the fire pot. A portion ofthe air from the chamber 56 passes upwardly in the passage I5 betweenthe wall of the fire pot and the outer wall of the heater casing. Thisair serves to prevent overheating of the fire pot and provides secondarycombustion air which enters the fire pot through openings 19 in the sidewall near the upper edge thereof.

The arrangement of the fuel nozzles in a position eccentric to the axisof the circular air openings 29 provides for a greater supply ofcombustion air around the lower portion of the fuel nozzles 23 than issupplied around the upper portion thereof. This larger volume ofcombustion air therefore serves to turn the flame upwardly and inwardlyalong the outer surfaces of the hood 23a defining the outer wall of thevaporizing chamber 26. The eccentric arrangement of the fuel nozzles 23relative to the air delivery openings 29 is especially important for lowflame operation of the burner. During such operation the supply of fuelis normally such as to provide only a flame cap 56 such as illustratedin Fig. 3. Such fiame cap and likewise the normal heating fiame burns ashort distance away from the edge of the nozzle 23. The portion of theflame cap 50 near the lower portion of the nozzle, being subjected togreater air force, will burn at a greater distance from the nozzle thanat the upper portion thereof, but there is no danger of blowing theflame out, since the rate of propagation of the flame along the upperportion of the fuel nozzle, where it is supplied with a smaller volumeof combustion air, is substantially slower than the rate of propagationalong the lower portion of the nozzle. The fiame, during the low flameoperation, can be maintained very small without danger of going out andat the same time direct the heat from the small fiame upwardly aroundthe vaporizing chamber substantially as shown in Fig. 3. In this figureof the drawing the flame cap is indicated by the numeral 50 and the pathof the hot products of combustion is shown at iii. The numeral 52indicates the inner sheet of combustion air which enters through therestricted space above one of the nozzles 23 and 53 indicates the largeramount of air which enters through the passage 29 at a location belowthe flame.

I claim:

1. In apparatus: for burning gaseous fuel, means defining acombustionchamber, a burner element positioned in: the combustion chamberand-providedwith a plurality' of'nozzles for delivering gaseous fuelinto said chamber and arranged with their long axes radiating from acommon vertical axis, means defining separate air passages surroundingthe discharge ends of the several fuel nozzles for admitting into thecombustion chamber streams of air in the form of envelopessurroundingthe several streams of gaseous fuel discharged from the nozzles; each ofthe said air passages being arranged in avertically eccentric positionrelative-to the discharge end of its associated nozzle and with thegreatest spacing between the nozzle and the walls of the air passagebeing located beneath the nozzle, whereby the volumeof air supplied tothe lower portion of the gaseous stream discharged from said nozzle isgreater than the volume of air supplied to the upper portion thereof andthereby turns the flame upwardly.

Z. In apparatus for burning gaseous fuel, means defining a combustionchamber having side and bottom walls, a burner element positioned in thecombustion chamber and provided with a plurality of radially disposedhorizontal nozzles for delivering gaseous fuel into said chamber, meansdefining separate air passages surrounding the discharge ends of theseveral fuel nozzles for admitting into the'combustion chamber streamsof air in the form of envelopes surrounding the several streams ofgaseous fuel discharged from the nozzles; each of the said air passagesbeing arranged in a vertically eccentric position relative to thedischarge end of its associated nozzle and with the greatest spacingbetween the nozzle andthe walls of the air passage being located beneaththe nozzle, whereby a volume of air substantially larger than the volumeintroduced above the gaseous stream is introduced into the combustionchamber between the stream of gaseous fuel and the bottom and side wallsof thecorn'bustion chamber so as to turn the stream of gaseous fuelupwardly and provide a blanket of air between the ignited fuel and theside walls of thecombustion chamber.

3. In apparatus for burning gaseous fuel,

means defining a combustion chamber, a burner 3 element positioned inthe combustion chamber and provided with a plurality of radiallydisposed horizontal nozzles for delivering gaseous fuel into saidchamber, means for supplying said nozzles with gaseous fuel comprising aretort positioned above the burner element so as to be heated by theflames therefrom, and means for supplying air to said fuel streams inthe form of envelopes surrounding the separate streams of to supportcombustion and for turning the flames of the ignited fuel upwardlyaround the walls of saidretort comprising a vertical plate formed withopenings therein arranged adjacent the ends of the nozzles with thehorizontal axes of the openings positioned below the horizontal axes ofthe said nozzles, whereby the amount of air admitted through the lowerportion of said passages into the combustion chamber beneath the streamof gaseous fuel is greater than the amount introduced into the chamberabove said gaseous streams and thereby turns the flames upwardly aroundthe retort.

4. In apparatus for burning gaseous fuel, means defining a combustionchamber having side and bottom walls, a burner element positioned inthechamber near the bottomwall and provided with a plurality of radiallydisposed horizontal nozzles for delivering streams of gaseous fuelinto-said chamber, means for supplying said nozzles withgaseous'fuelcomprising a retort positioned above the burner element soas to beheated by theflames therefrom and having direct-communication with theburner element, means for delivering into theretort acontrolled volumeof liquid fuel and a quantity of air insuflicient to support combustion,whereby the fuel is vaporized and mixed with saidair to provide a richgaseous mixture, and means for supplying. air to said streams of gaseousfuel in the form of envelopes surrounding the separate streams ofgaseous fuel to support combustion and for turning thefiames of theignited fuel upwardly around the walls of said'retort comprising avertical plate formed with openings therein arranged adjacent-the end ofthe nozzles with the horizontal axes of the openings positioned belowthe horizontal axes of said nozzles, whereby a larger volume of air isintroduced into the combustion chamber between the streams of fuel andthe bottom wall of the combustion chamber than is introduced above saidstreams.

5. A liquid fuel burnercomprising, in combination, means defining an"air sup-ply chamber, means defining a combustion chamber located in theair supply chamber and having side and bottom walls spaced from the sideand bottom walls of the air supply chamber and also having openingsdefining air passages leading from the air sup-ply chamber into thecombustion chamber, a combined retort and burner structure extendinginto the combustion chamber through an air passage opening in the bottomwall of the combustion chamber, said burner structure including a burnerelement having a chambered body and a plurality of radially disposedhorizontal nozzles extending outwardly from said body-for directingstreams of gaseous fuel into the combustion chamber, a retort positionedabove the burner element to be heated thereby and adapted to receive andvaporize a quantity of liquid fuel to provide said gaseous fuel, andmeans for restricting the passage of air through the opening in thebottom wall ofthe combustion chamber comprising a vertical wallextending. around the burner structure and having its lower edgerecessed at spaced locations and seated on said bottom wall of thecombustion chamber, the said vertical wall beingalso formed withopenings therein defining separate air passages surrounding thedischarge ends of the several nozzles, each of said air passages beingarranged in a vertically eccentric position relative to its associatednozzle with the horizontal axes of said opening below the axes of itsassociated nozzle so that a larger volume of air is introducedinto thecombustion chamber through the lower portions of said openings thanthrough the upper portions thereof.

6. A liquid fuel burner comprising, in combination, means defining anair supply chamber, means defining a combustion chamber located in theair supply chamber and having side and bottom walls spaced from the sideand bottom walls of the air supply chamber and also having openingsthrough the side walls of the combustion chamber near the upper edgethereof and a central opening in the bottom wall defining air passagesleading from the air supply chamber into the combustion chamber, acombined retort and burner structure extending into the combustionchamber through an air passage opening in the bottom wall of thecombustion chamber, said burner structure including a burner elementhaving a chambered body and a plurality of nozzles arranged to radiatefrom a common vertical axis and extending outwardly from said body fordirecting streams of gaseous fuel into the combustion chamber, a retortpositioned above the burner element to be heated thereby and adapted toreceive and vaporize a quantity of liquid fuel to provide said gaseousfuel, and means for restricting the passage of air through the openingin the bottom wall of the combustion chamber comprising a vertical wallextending around the burner structure and having its lower edge recessedat spaced locations and seated on said bottom wall of the combustionchamber, the said vertical wall being also formed with openings thereindefining separate air passages surrounding the discharge ends of theseveral nozzles, each of said air passages being arranged in avertically eccentric position relative to its associated nozzle with thehorizontal axes of said opening being arranged below the axes of itsassociated nozzle so that a larger volume of air is introduced into thecombustion chamber through the lower portions of said openings thanthrough the upper portions thereof.

7. A liquid fuel burner comprising, in combination, means defining anair supply chamber, means defining a combustion chamber located in theair supply chamber and having side and bottom walls spaced from the sideand bottom walls of the air supply chamber and also having openingsthrough the side walls of the combustion chamber near the upper edgethereof and a central opening in the bottom wall defining an air passageleading from the air supply chamber into the combustion chamber, aburner structure extending into the combustion chamber through saidcentral opening in said bottom wall and provided with a plurality ofradially disposed nozzles for directing streams of gaseous fuel intosaid combustion chamber, and means for restricting the passage of airthrough said central opening in said bottom wall of the combustionchamber comprising a vertical wall extending around the burner structureand seated on said bottom wall of the combustion chamber, the saidvertical wall being formed with openings therein, each opening definingan air passage of the desired area surrounding the discharge orifice ofa nozzle.

8. A liquid fuel burner comprising, in combination, means defining anair supply chamber, means comprising side and vertical walls defining acombustion chamber, means defining a central air passage leading fromthe air supply chamber into the combustion chamber, a burner structureextending into the combustion chamber through said central air passageand comprising a burner element having a plurality of radially extendingfuel discharge nozzles and a retort positioned above said burner elementto be heated thereby and adapted to receive and vaporize a quantity ofliquid fuel to provide said gaseous fuel, and means for restricting thepassage of air through saidcentral air passage into the combustionchamber comprising a hood element for the retort formed with a verticalwall extending downwardly from said retort and around the burner elementand seated on the bottom wall of the combustion chamber adjacent saidcentral opening, there being air openings in said vertical wallsurrounding the discharge end of each of said nozzles to admit into thecombustion chamber streams of air in the form of envelopes surroundingthe streams of gaseous fuel discharged from said nozzles.

9. A liquid fuel burner comprising, in combination, means defining acombustion chamber having side and bottom walls and formed in saidbottom wall with an opening defining a central air passage, a burnerstructure extending into said combustion chamber through said centralair passage and including a burner element having a chambered body andnozzle means for directing gaseous fuel into the combustion chamber anda retort positioned above the burner element to be heated thereby andadapted to receive and vaporize a quantity of liquid fuel to providesaid gaseous fuel, and means for pre heating portions of the combustionchamber and burner structure comprising an absorbent body positionedbelow the bottom wall of said combustion chamber, and means fordelivering a controlled volume of liquid fuel into said retort, andmeans for directing said liquid fuel from said retort into the chamberedbody of the burner element and thereafter to said absorbent body,whereby the combustion of the fuel received by said absorbent body fromthe chambered body of the burner element applies heat to the walls ofthe combustion chamber, the burner element and the retort, and wherebythe heating of the retort vaporizes the liquid fuel therein and therebyinterrupts the delivery of liquid fuel into said chambered body of theburner and to said absorbent body.

ALICK CLARKSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS I Number Name Date 545,644 Huber Sept. 1'7, 1895811,429 McKnight Jan. 30, 1906 1,011,456 Ludlow Dec. 12, 1911 1,282,998Walker Oct. 29, 1918 1,364,678 Barnes Jan. i, 1921 1,529,885 Handley etal. Mar. 1'7, 1925 2,367,938 Martin Jan. 9, l945 2,398,883 Clarkson Apr.23, 1945 2,409,981 Livar Oct. 22, 1946 2,445,302 Clarkson July 13, 1948

